Nation’s biggest swimming, diving meet — the Classic — set for this weekend

Event will feature estimated 2,700 swimmers, 150 divers

For more than three decades, the Southwest Ohio High School Swimming & Diving Classic has brought together some of the best swimmers and divers, not only in the district, but also the state.

The 34th annual event gets underway Saturday with swimming preliminaries at nine sites across southwest Ohio and finals held at St. Xavier High School’s Keating Natatorium. Diving prelims will be held at four sites with finals at the University of Cincinnati.

Quality and quantity will be on display with an estimated 2,700 swimmers and 150 divers vying for best times and top finishes.

Meet co-director Tom Schoborg shares more about the two-day event that is regarded as the largest invitational of its kind in the country.

Question: To what do you attribute the growth of this event?

Answer: Swimming, in general, is one of those under-the-radar sports where some people don't realize just how many swimmers there are. We'll have a YMCA or USA Swimming event with 1,500 or 2,000 young swimmers, so there are lots of kids, of all ages, competing in swimming. And there are a lot of athletes – kids who run track or play soccer – who pick it up as a second sport. It's very effective for a lot of those athletes in their off-season.

Q: What makes this meet unique?

A: A big thing is that we have more events than a standard high school meet. We have college events, like the 200 backstroke, 400 IM (individual medley) and 1,650 free, and we have events like the 50 back and the 100 IM that are designed for junior varsity level swimmers. So a lot of swimmers get to showcase their abilities at this meet. The idea is to not just get the elite swimmers involved, but also those who might be new to the sport. We're trying to get as many levels of competitors to come back to the finals and be able to swim in front of 2,000 people. It's very exciting.

Q: How does an event like this benefit the swimmers?

A: One of the things you don't normally see is a prelim in the morning and finals at night and, then, they have to get up and do it again the next day. They have to learn how to swim fast four times in a row and that's a challenge. If they get to state, they will be in a similar situation so they get that experience. They also have a chance to compete not just against one other school – like they do in the dual meets – but against swimmers from the entire district so they can see how they compare. And it's Division I and Division II swimmers competing together, which you don't usually see.

Q: How would you describe the atmosphere of this meet?

A: The swimmers in the finals won't see anything like this anywhere else – the closeness of the crowd, the size of the crowd. It really creates a lot of energy.


Area Athletes to Watch

Boys

Swimming: Zach Baecker (Springboro), Cody Bybee (Bellbrook), Liam Halpin (Oakwood), Dominic Harry (Carroll), Dutch Kipp (Oakwood), Eric Knowles (Xenia Christian), Nathan Mitchell (Miami Valley); Alex Rodgers (Alter), John Sampson (Bellbrook), Hank Siefert (Xenia)

Diving: Austin Flaute (Centerville), Dustin Hayes (Fairmont), Isaac Karn (Piqua), Zachary Kendig (Fairmont), Sean Mondello (Talawanda), Peter Venema (Oakwood), Sam Wiedemann (Centerville)

Girls

Swimming: Heather Albers (Versailles), Arielle Arnett (Tippecanoe), Margaret Berning (Fairmont), Kierstyn Cassidy (Waynesville), Juliana Chen (Oakwood), Olivia Chick (Yellow Springs), Sally Clough (Springboro), Abbey Duncan (Beavercreek), Claire Farrell (Carroll), Nora Fullenkamp (Centerville), Amy Fulmer (Bellefontaine), Alyssa Lewis (Wilmington), Lauren Olson (Fenwick), Liz Quarin (Centerville), Laramie Reed (Northeastern), Grace Seibert (Springfield Shawnee)

Diving: Sara Parker (Oakwood), Kaley Pook (Dayton Christian)

How to Go – 34th Annual Southwest Ohio High School Swimming & Diving Classic

What: The largest meet of its kind with an estimated 2,700 swimmers and 150 divers from 112 schools

When: Jan. 14-15

Schedule: swimming prelims – 8 a.m.; finals – 6:30 p.m.; diving prelims – 1 p.m. Saturday; finals – 9 a.m. Sunday

Where: Swimming prelims – Countryside YMCA, Dayton Raiders Aquatic Center, Miami University (A & B), Mason, Milford, Princeton and Trotwood-Madison high schools, and West Carrolton YMCA; Finals – Keating Natatorium, St. Xavier High School. Diving prelims – Miami University, Mason, Milford and Trotwood-Madison; finals – University of Cincinnati

Admission: $6 per session

Info/results: www.swimmeet.com

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